Update: Owner Tim DeRodes made the difficult decision to close all three Jake’s locations: Ashland, Mount Vernon and Wooster. We wish him well, and we hope his staff can find employment.
As any reader of this blog will know, I am a huge burger fan. I enjoy going to different restaurants and trying their hamburgers. I usually opt for a bacon cheeseburger, if truth be told. So, when I go to Jake’s Steakhouse in Wooster, Ohio, that is usually what I get. Jake’s not only has good burgers, their battered mushrooms are to die for. I haven’t had better battered mushrooms anywhere, since I was a teenager working at Dale’s Liberty Inn. (A restaurant that is no longer.) However, with all that being said, the last trip I took to Jake’s wasn’t for a burger, but for their Sunday Brunch.
My mom, Dolores, had her birthday in January. She is part of the Jake’s birthday club. As a member of the club, she received a coupon in the mail for $10 off of her meal during the month of her birthday. It was getting close to the end of the month (January 29 to be exact) and she still hadn’t used the coupon. When she suggested we meet for lunch at Jake’s after church, it sounded like a great idea. This would be a chance for me to try their Sunday Brunch.
When my husband, Bobby, and I got there, it was a little before the lunch rush, so we were able to get a table pretty quickly. It was a good thing, too. Because shortly after we arrived, the line started growing. Apparently the Jake’s Brunch is pretty popular. After enjoying it, I can see why. There were plenty of options from which to choose, everything from breakfast, lunch and desserts.
Since I had already eaten breakfast, I started with the salad. Now, sometimes I think getting a salad is a waste of space in my belly, especially when I’m at a buffet. Other times, I just have a hankering for a salad. Jake’s salad bar had just enough items to make a nice salad without going overboard.
What was a nice surprise at the buffet was the shrimp cocktail. While I expected to see roast beef and other meats, I hadn’t expected to see shrimp. So being the carnivore that I am, I got the shrimp, roast beef, baked fish (I think it was cod) and chicken alfredo.
On the breakfast side of the brunch, there is of course eggs, potatoes and bacon. Jake’s also had a sausage gravy on their hot bar. Then they had a cook there ready to make omelets or belgian waffles for the diners. My mom, stood in line to have an omelet made especially for her. If you ask me she goes heavy on the green peppers, but hey, it’s what she likes.
Bobby brought back to the table a hot belgian waffle which he had topped with syrup and whip cream. I was a little jealous when I saw it. Then he offered each of us our own quarter of the waffle to try. (He’s such a good husband!)
Bobby, true to his personality, used the ample supply of rolls to make an assortment of sandwiches. First there was the roast beef and bacon sandwich. Then there was the chicken sandwich. He used the chicken chunks out of the chicken alfredo for the filling.
My dad, Bud, enjoyed a smattering of this and that, including the ribs, shrimp, roast beef and mashed potatoes.
If all that was not enough, then Jake’s has a whole table filled with an assortment of desserts, including chocolate cheesecake, muffins, mini fruit pies and chocolate cake.
I couldn’t resist putting a dollop of whip cream (or maybe more) on the chocolate cake.
When all was said and done, I had eaten my fill of just about everything Jake’s had to offer. I even went back to get my own belgian waffle! I would say if you go to Jake’s Steakhouse for the Sunday Brunch and leave hungry, it’s your own fault. However, you want to either get there early or towards the tail end of the buffet time, to avoid waiting in the long line. But even if you don’t it will be worth it.
